Krossover Hockey: Breakouts

You could have Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid on your team, but if you can’t clear out the defensive zone effectively, you probably won’t win games. This is why breakouts are so important - they operate as a scoring chance for your team if you can cause turnovers when opponents are on the attack. They turn defense to offense in the blink of an eye.

More scoring chances lead to a higher probability of you winning the game. So if your breakouts aren’t great, what can you do to improve? Today, we’ll show you some drills to help you improve your breakouts.

Perpetual Breakout Drill

The perpetual breakout drill focuses on tempo, flow, and timing. The drill starts with a point man behind the net, who then passes the puck to the winger, who follows that with a pass to the high forward. The drill concludes with a one-touch pass to the center who attacks and initiates another breakout. Following the attack, the winger goes to the middle, and the drill moves forward.

Three Pass Breakout Drill

This drill focuses on making quick, concise passes from a defensive position. The "Three Pass Breakout Drill" features four players, one acting as the defenseman, and the others in a forward position. The first forward will skate all the way to the other end for a shot, while the other two forwards will support the breakout normally, but stop at the blue line.

A diagram of the drill can be seen here:

Forecheck and Breakouts Drill

One key to a successful breakout is getting past the forecheck. This is a small and quick drill to warm up your players, while also focusing on getting a timely pass out to start a breakout. The drill starts with an offensive player opposite two defenders. The offensive player then goes into forechecking mode, looking to stop the breakout from happening. The key for the defenseman with the puck is to get it to the other player as cleanly as possible.

Give 'n Go Drill

Another drill focusing on passing, positioning, and a quick shot release during a breakout. The first part of the drill focuses on getting the right pass off to start a breakaway. From there, your players will focus on making a one-touch pass to simulate a quick breakaway and end the drill with a quick shot on goal.